Hello and welcome to our FAQ page. This is designed for those just starting out with home theatre and we hope it helps. If you feel we have missed important subjects or there are answers to some questions missing please email us your comments and suggestions. For those professionals reading this, please remember this is a basic guide for those just starting out…
General
- What is home theatre and what does it do for me?
- Why is Home Theatre Engineering different?
- Is it expensive?
- How do I know your advice is reliable and impartial?
Audio
Video
- Is HDTV really important for a home theatre?
- Should I get a video projector or a television for my home theatre?
Disgning the room
What is home theatre and what does it do for me?
Home theatre refers to a setup of audio and video equipment in your home that tries to duplicate the movie theatre experience. The application of this definition can vary widely, however. Many consumers are intimidated by the term "Home Theatre" as they think this means a lot of money, equipment, and cables running all over the place.
We have a clear distinction. A TV with 4 or 5 speakers we refer to as Surround sound TV. But a well structured large display and preferably a projector and screen with true well configured surround sound we call Home Theatre. Whats the difference? Simple, one makes you feel like you are at the movies, the other is TV!Why is Home Theatre Engineering different?
Our advice is based on technological fact, on calculating your room acoustic and viewing distances and image quality not on opinion or conjecture. We are trained and qualified by independent organisations such as the ISF and HAA that specialise in small room acoustics and video display design and calibration, not by a manufacturer of any brand or make of equipment so we are free and impartial. We measure your room, discuss your requirements and help select whichever items will work best together to deliver the best possible results within your budget.
Is it expensive?
The fact is that getting the right advice can end up costing no more. Why? Because we not only will give the right advice but will help you buy your equipment wisely from wherever you can get the best deal often helping you save more than you would have otherwise. Most clients end up paying about the same as they would have without the advice but get a Home Theatre system that is significantly better than they ever expected.
How do I know your advice is reliable and impartial?
First of all because we are trained and qualified by the ISF and HAA we are bound to perform to a very high standard. We risk our qualifications and our reputation if we let anyone down. Secondly, because we guarantee our work. If you are not completely satisfied with the end result we will not charge you a cent for our advice, a good reason for us to deliver the best possible result we can. Finally, because word of mouth is so important to us we simply cannot afford to let anyone down.
What is surround sound and how do I get it?
Surround sound is a term applied to several types of processes that enable the listener to experience sound coming from all directions, depending on the source material. To get surround sound, you need a component that can decode and reproduce surround sound from a source, such as a DVD, which is usually referred to as an AV Receiver. The AV receiver is the heart of a home theatre system and provides most, if not all, the inputs and outputs that you connect everything, including your television, into an AV Receiver provides an easy and cost-effective way of centralising your home theatre system.
Is HDTV really important for a home theatre?
If you are planning a home theatre and are going to purchase a new television, it is a good idea to get one that is HDTV-compatible. The amount of HDTV programs is increasing rapidly, even free to air TV is now available in HD with the right equipment. The audio that is supplied with HDTV video is in surround sound, which takes further advantage of your surround sound receiver. A twist in the setup is that even though DVD is not a high resolution format, HDTVs can display what is referred to as a progressive scan signal. This enables you to get the most out of your DVD player (most players can output progressive scan which gives the viewer a smoother film-like image when shown on a progressive-scan capable television). True high definition DVD, in the form of Blu-ray and HD-DVD has also arrived, which will take full advantage of the capabilities of HDTV, vastly superceding current DVD technology, especially when viewing on large projection screens.
Should I get a video projector or a television for my home theatre?
The size of the television or video display device you get really depends on the size of the room environment you will be using it in and how close you will be sitting to the screen. It also depend on whether or not you want that true "at the movies" experience. Projector systems are more flexible than people realise and many people dismiss them and miss out on an awesome experience at home. However, the decision as to what type of television you get is a little more complex. However, no matter what type of television or video display device you purchase, make sure it is high definition compatible, even if you don't access to high definition programming yet; this will change very soon.
Factors To Take Into Consideration when considering a video projector vs a television-type video display:
- Video projectors do not have RF cable or antenna connections like a television has. However, if your cable or satellite box has the right connections, preferably component or DVI (HD) connections you would be able to hook them up to a video projector
- Video projectors do have a limited lamp life. In other words, if you are watching TV on your video projector about 3-4 hours every night, you would have to replace the lamp about once every 18 months .
- Due to the very large screen sizes used these days , standard TV or satellite do not look as good as High Definition content . With High definition sources (Set top box, Blue Ray or HD DVD etc) you would get much better results.
Home Theatre how-to
There's more to home theatre than putting together your TV, VCR, DVD player, and sound system. It's important to familiarise yourself with the process right from the start so as not to limit your possibilities.
Finding the right room
The first step is figuring out where you want your new home theatre. The ideal location is a quiet place that can be almost completely darkened, and that is not near streets or bedrooms so you don't get disturbed. However, depending on budget, this may not be possible.
Placing the couch
Find an appropriate place for the TV and arrange the furniture so that there will be plenty of seats with good views of the screen. The surround sound effect will be best if the couch is a few feet away from the rear wall. We can provide all the correct mathematical equations for determining the proper distance from your screen to your seat.
Turn down the lights
Lighting is important, too. To keep glare off the screen, put drapes on your windows and place lights where they won't shine into viewers' eyes or reflect off the screen. Installing dimmer switches on lights can help you achieve the perfect ambience, and some people like to place a light behind the TV set to wash the wall with a pale glow and this may reduce eye fatigue if your screen has not been professionally calibrated.
The upgrade path
Surround sound and a High definition video display are the two elements that truly define home theatre. Even if you're just beginning a project, you probably already own some of the equipment. Make sure you get good advice, when you add components make sure they are future proof (as much as is possible) HDMI 1.3 is something to look for and try to get a grip on the concept of "upscaling" (taking Standard definition images and processing them to display on a High Definition screen. Many people end up paying twice for this, with a scaler in both their TV and their DVD and the results can be less than impressive if set up incorrectly. This is an area worth getting help on.
Surround Sound
Surround sound is often referred to as 5.1-channel, meaning a sound system made up of five speakers and a subwoofer. The subwoofer is essential and wherever possible ensure it can be moved around the room. Placement is critical and avoid putting it in a cabinet if at all possible. (That goes for all speakers.) Surround sound has developed dramatically in the last few years DTS THX and other options provide for amazing cinema like sound reproduction but speaker design and placement is the key. The sad thing is a vast majority of people (including "experts" get this so wrong. Again do your research or let us help you out.
Why do all those extra speakers make the experience so much better?
A center channel ensures that dialogue always seems to be coming directly from the screen, even for viewers sitting way off to one side. Without surround speakers, you don't get surround. And without a subwoofer, your wont get even clear and well defined bass (did you know 50% of all audio information is carried below 500Hz!) . Some receivers and other surround gear use an additional single rear speaker (6.1); and the new THX Surround EX system (7.1) uses two additional speakers on the back wall for an even richer surround ambience. Two subwoofers are much better than 1, not for the "big thunderous bass but to handle standing waves in the room and deliver smooth even sound.
Setting it up
Once you have your equipment sorted out and wired together, you need to optimize it for your room. Profesional calibration is the only way to ensure you have got everything you paid for out of your system.
Automatic calibration systems
Many new receivers come with built in computer controlled calibration systems. And they are terrific but they have some major issues. All they can do is compensate for flaws in the room design, speaker installation placement or positioning etc. They cannot (yet) get up and move the main seat 20cm to the left, and shift the front Right speaker 15cm to the right, or move the pot plant away from in front of the centre speaker etc. get the picture? You need to understand you cannot electronically compensate for a dip in sound caused by room shape standing waves, in fact the more energy you throw at it the bigger that dip can get. You HAVE to move speakers and work on the room layout or design. That is a simple inescapable fact. So yes they have their place if your room and speakers are set, they will make the best of a bad thing, but nothing beats getting it right from the start and no EQ system ever invented can do that. Only a trained expert can walk into a room and to this for you.
Optimizing your TV
The first step is to make sure your display (TV etc) is connected properly. Many people have High Defintion sources such as set top boxes connected to High Definition displays with a very low grade connection. The std yellow composite lead should be avoided at all costs, the plaug s-video cable (with a plug that looks like a computer mouse lead end) is not much better. You have to use Component (3 leads together), DVI or HDMI to get a worthwhile result. If not you will have literally wasted your money and we are amazed at how many times we see this happen, even on "professionally" installed systems.
Placing speakers
The audio setup is more involved. You have to position the speakers, wire them up, and adjust your system's settings. The three front speakers should be equidistant from you and at the level of your ears when you sit watching. The center speaker often can't go in the location described above without blocking the screen. So place it either above or below the screen, whichever is closer to the level of viewers' ears, and tilt it a little to aim it directly at the ears.
Wherever possible avoid putting speakers in cabinets you will reduce the sound quality dramatically. The more you have spent on your speakers the greater the effective waste of money this will incur.
Finding the perfect spots for the left and right speakers is not easy and requires expert advice. But as a guide they should be in an arc equidistant from the viewing position with the centre speakers. This improves the sound by putting all three speakers the same distance from your ears. Spread the speakers so that they are about 40 to 50 degrees apart. There are a lot of other rules and tricks to getting perfect sound and these are provided as part of our expert advice.The surround speakers
The layout of surround speakers is quite involved.it depends on which format you will use. 5.1, 6.1, 7.1, 5.2 etc. As a guide Surround speakers should be mounted above ear level on either side of the viewer.With &.1 the rear speakers should be together and behind you (naturally). Speaker placement is critical for good "sound stage". The Dolby and THX websites have guides on speaker location. If you must place small speakers on shelves or cabinets, bring the speakers forward until they're flush with the shelf edge or cabinet front.
Bass Boost
Bass tones are most affected by your room's acoustics, which can give you too much bass in some places and too little in others. To find where your sub will sound best, put it on the floor where you would typically sit to watch a movie. Then play a signal with a lot of different bass tones, and listen in every spot where you might put your subwoofer. The best positions will be those where you hear strong, even bass, and not just a narrow range of frequencies. A lot of people tell you to stuck a subwoofer in the corner. This is to be avoided where possible as corners generate strong nodes… basically creating powerful standing waves at particular frequencies. 2 sub woofers approx half way down the front and side walls will do a very good job indeed.
Finishing touches
At this point, black boxes and mountains of wire now besiege your former living room. There are some tricks to taking back control of your room. Running the wires from your receiver to your three front speakers is seldom a problem; getting them to the surround speakers, however, can be a challenge. You don't want the wires to be visible or to trip anyone. If you hide them under the carpet, make sure to avoid heavily trafficked areas to minimize wear on the wires' insulation.
Which wires?
This is a touchy area and opinions are like a certain part of our anatomy, every one has one… But there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that highly expensive heavy duty special speaker cables are of no value at all. It's up to you, if you believe in it and want to put your money there then so be it. We would rather see that money put to better use elsewhere in your system. As a guide, it pays to use decent quality figure eight wiring. We recommend #12AWG or wire guage.
If you've done everything right, you may feel disappointed that the added channels aren't calling attention to themselves after all that work and money. The natural temptation is to turn up the subwoofer and surround speakers, just to prove they're working. But before you disturb your careful settings, try switching from surround to plain stereo when playing a surround film. You may be shocked to discover what you'd been missing before, you're not even aware of it when it's on but miss it terribly when you shut it off.
Finally
This is such an involved an technical field that is changing so fast it is hard for even us to keep up. But there is some comfort. There are rules and standards. Most people don't know they exist. Let alone know what they are. We know these standards well and apply them on every single job. The rules remain the same. Getting sound and vision right is not opinion (though people are welcome to theirs) it is a measurable quantifiable standard that can be reached with the right advise, knowledge and test equipment. Once this is done you will have truly achieved evry drop of performance your system can deliver. And why would you want any less? The sad fact is people pay thousands of dollars for their home theatres these days and a vast majority are getting around 50% of its true capability. Invest your money wisely and pay to get the job done right by people who know. You won't regret it.